Thursday was a repeat of Tuesday’s workout for the Indianapolis 500, when Scott Dixon spent most of the day sitting on top of the speed schedule for Chip Ganassi Racing before Dale Coyne Racing with Takuma Sato of Rick Weir drove forward to get the best lap of the day in the final six minutes .
Taking advantage of towing, as nearly half of the field spent the last hour on the track, Sato recorded a lap of 227,519 mph on a Honda № 51 to pass the P1, but in the tow ban report (NTR) he took the P29. Where most riders spent the middle of the session to make qualifying simulation races, Sato and the DCR team decided to work on the races, which explained the high towing speed.
For Dixon and Honda № 9 the day was spent on both needs as its best lap of 227.335 mph was good enough for the P2 and was well matched to the P11’s run on the NTR. DCR with David Malukas of HMD Motorsports was P3 after following Sato’s lead by focusing on racing. His Honda number 18 reached a top speed of 226.868 mph and became the P21 on the NTR.
“It was a very productive day,” Sato said. “Two cars in the top three. More importantly, we enjoy cars on the road. We have made great progress. “
For the second day in a row, the Ghanaian Indy 500 team was strong.
“An interesting day,” Dixon said. “A lot of running for everyone. For us, the race works for most. Pretty happy in some situations. All in all, I think we all had a pretty quiet day in Ghana. ”
JR Hildebrand of AJ Foyt Racing had a P4 at 226.846 mph as a result of excellent towing; his number 11 AJ Foyt Racing Chevy was P30 on NTR. Ganasi Dixon’s teammate Jimmy Johnson was a P5 in a Honda № 48 with acceleration of 226.409 miles per hour, helped by a draft as the rookie got a P23 in the NTR rankings.
The top six was completed by Pata O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP, who finished his running day a little earlier. His № 5 Chevy spent the best lap of 226,048 miles per hour with a tug that left him a P27 on NTR.
Of the other teams and drivers Andretti Autosport has not yet gained muscle; Marco Andretti was the best of the five-car team in the P15, but Alexander Rossi moved to the P4 on the NTR, which yielded many promises after the 2016 Indy 500 winner became second in laps among all riders on Thursday.
Similarly, Team Penske made little attempt to increase the speed on the tug, as its fastest driver was Scott McLaughlin in P17, but the team’s focus was clear as Will Power was P1 on NTR and then Joseph Newgarden in P4 and McLaughlin in P4. It would not be a surprise to see how Penske riders are ahead of the bloody one, as soon as high gains are earned on Good Friday, and qualifying races dominate the activity on the track.
The overcast day began hot, humid and windy, and over time the clouds and temperatures decreased. There were no accidents or dramatic moments, except for a warning for another fox that ran across the track, and a few heavy laps made by Ramon Grosjean, who found that his last race – a qualifying simulation – led to several close challenges coming out of turn 2 wall .
NEXT: Practice in the post on Friday, 12-18 p.m.
https://racer.com/2022/05/19/sato-leads-thursday-indy-500-practice/
